CHICAGO, Ill. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – In a wild and weather-hampered match, the Green Bay men’s soccer team opened its 2013 season with an exciting 3-2 win over DePaul on Friday afternoon at Wish Field.

A high-scoring, intense affair, the Phoenix rebounded from two early deficits for its first win of the season. The game was called with 6:06 remaining on the scoreboard due to severe weather in the Chicagoland area.

“This was a great result against an experienced Big East team on the road,” said head coach Dan Popik. “We displayed a lot of character coming from behind twice. I asked for a team effort and the team gave it to me.

“We will enjoy this victory for the next few hours then we will start our preparation for Marquette on Sunday.”

It didn’t take long for the Blue Demons to take an early lead, finding the net with just 1:23 ticked off the clock as Michael Stankiewicz found Brandon Loncar to put the hosts ahead, 1-0.

Storming back, the Phoenix threatened in the eighth minute with attempts from Audi Jepson (Green Bay, Wis.) and Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa, Wis.) to take back the momentum. Jordan Dover (Ontario, Canada) entered the match for Green Bay in the 23rd minute and showed his capabilities off the bench, netting his first goal of the season in the 29th minute capitalizing on an open-net pass from Krenzien to knot the score at 1-1.

Maintaining the pressure, Lawrence Talery (Coon Rapids, Minn.) saw his shot hit the post and another shot by Dover forced DePaul’s Eric Sorby into a save situation, leaving the Phoenix just short of adding another goal.

Despite holding the momentum, it was the Blue Demons who scored the final goal of the first half, bringing in a goal by Pat Flynn off of a free kick to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.

Again the Phoenix rebounded from a deficit, notching two goals in the first five minutes of the second half to go ahead, 3-2. Krenzien started the scoring in the 48th minute with an unassisted marker shot from 20 yards out to even the score, 2-2. Jepson followed with his first collegiate goal in the 50th minute, settling a pass from Tyler Swanner (Glen Carbon, Ill.) to push the Phoenix lead to 3-2.

Green Bay maintained the advantage down the stretch, until the game came to a halt in the 84th minute for lightning and severe weather in the area. After a 90 minute delay the match was called.

For the match, Green Bay led in shots, 10-8. Corners were even at 1-1. Kyle Ihn (Wales, Wis.) played the entirety for the Phoenix, collecting his first collegiate win after making one save.

Green Bay returns to the pitch on Sunday, making the trip to Milwaukee to take on No. 12 Marquette on Sunday at 4 p.m.

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